By ADAM FALLUJI – STAFF WRITER
Last semester, former Centre student Karoline Kuang revived a club not seen on campus for some years: the Photography Club. The club is now under new management and has continued to grow since. It is steadily gearing up for the new semseter.
These students feel strongly about capturing the art in the world around them and want to provide all interested students with a community of fellow photographers. The goal will be to explore techniques and compositions of photography.
Senior Rita Basconi, the Photography Club’s new president, is dedicated to providing this opportunity for students interested in any form of photography through a variety of photographic mediums.
“We want this organization to be a place where students of any skill level can pursue their interest in photography in a relaxed environment,” Basconi said.
Photography has become increasingly popular and more complex over the years as new technology for cameras develops, which only increases the inclusivity of the club. Now, someone wielding a smartphone or a tablet designed with increasingly advanced cameras can participate with as much vigor as someone with a professional camera. The cub hopes to take advantage of these growing technological modes.
Also, social media websites like Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram have made photography more relevant and more readily available to people on Centre’s campus. These websites will give the Photography Club more options to display their work.
“There aren’t any real requirements for joining. We’re pretty open arms. Any experience is fine, art is art, whether you use a camera or a smartphone. We’d also like to remind everyone they can rent a camera from CTL for meetings,” Basconi said.
The club intends to meet twice each month of the semester and conduct peer-critique activities amongst its members. Through sharing their work they hope to create an atmosphere where photographers can learn from other photographers about the craft and ultimately improve their skills.
Creating this sense of creative openness is integral to the mission of the Photography Club. They hope to inspire members to explore photography as an art and recognize the phographic potential in their everyday, personal life.
Sophomore Yixiang Zeng believes that the members of the Photography Club will profit from this atmosphere, especially in how the supportive community will foster individual growth.
“I think photography is all about your imagination and personality,” he said. “If I tell someone to take a picture of something that captures their heart and their energy, it’ll be different, unique to each person. The way we take common things that everyone sees and how we place them shows our imagination.”
It’s this quality of individual input that makes photography such an open-ended art. And to this end the Photography Club maintains an open mind.
The club hopes to offer its members a break from the hecticness of Centre’s campus. Having a structured time and place to meet and discuss photography will give incentive to photographers to make time to actively particiapte and improve.
“I know we’re all busy. But I think it’s important to have a nice little break and I think the photography club can be that,” Basconi said.
While the photography maintains a great degree of flexibility towards their members, executive members are serious about keeping it well-organized and productive.
“The club is open for both beginners and experts,” club treasurer and sophomore Diyu Luo said. “We hope that people interested in photography can share their experiences and together we all can improve.”